Some of My Memories

by

Battalion Chief Michael “Pete” Heptig

In 1974, I was in my second year at KSU. I remember seeing a column of smoke in the downtown area. I decided to go see what was burning. What I found burning was several buildings on the south side of the 300 block of Poyntz. There was Manhattan’s Bravest battling the dragon. Being a kid who grew up not far from the suburbs of Flush Ks, I had never seen firefighters involved with fighting a structure fire of any size. My knowledge of firefighters was the volunteer firefighters from Westmoreland who burned up their pumper at a pasture fire south of my parent’s farm on a Good Friday. Why do I mention the downtown fire when I was not a part of the MFD at the time you may ask? It was because of this fire that Chief Bill Smith (Ret) was able to convince the commissioners that there was a need to increase the number of firefighters for the safety of the city. It was due to the fire department increasing its number of firefighters that the department was hiring in the fall of 1976.

In 1976, my dad was injured during wheat harvest. I quit school and went to work for dad. Needing to find an additional source of income, I was looking for some sort of part time job. My brother told me about the fire department and thought the hours of work might be of interest to me. He told me to call Matt Schlegel (Ret, Dec) to find out more about the fire department. After visiting with Matt, I was convinced that I wanted to work for the MFD. I arrived at city hall for the written test along with over 90 other people who were also hoping to land one of the ten positions that were available. Only twenty of us passed the written test. Next was the physical agility test. As I recall we had to climb a rope, broad jump, walk a balance beam, lift a weight, pull a hose and run three quarters of a mile for time. There may have been another event or two, but dang that was along time ago, and well dang it, I just do not remember. Anyway, I was fortunate enough to be offered a position with the department.

January 3rd, 1977 at 0730 on a Monday, I arrived at headquarters station to begin my life as a firefighter. Headquarters at that time was the fire station at 11th and Poyntz. I walked in the front door and asked the person sitting in the glassed jail cell where I was to be. I would learn later that it was Mary Galloway (Davenport) I was talking with and the jail cell was called the dispatch office. Mary told me to go upstairs. I walked up the stairs, around the corner and into the kitchen. The first words I remember hearing were, “I wish they’d send these fucking probies somewhere else to train”. Those words where spoken by a large barrel chested man. He was wearing a white shirt, had a marine sergeant haircut and had hands the size of scoop shovels. This man was Captain Carl Hoefler (Ret.). Sitting across the table from Carl was a fellow with his hat pulled down so low that you could barely see his eyes. He was not saying a word and looked grumpy as hell. He looked like a cowboy who was fixin’ to lynch someone for stealing his horse. This fella was Fire Driver Tex Klink (Ret.). What a welcoming committee for a probie. I am thinking to myself what in the world did I get myself into.

The first two weeks on the department were spent in the academy. To my understanding, it was the first 2-week academy given by the MFD. The Assistant Chief Paul Lewis (Ret. Dec.) trained me and the other nine probies. Paul either ran out of material after about the third day of the academy or maybe he had other things he would rather do than spend his day with probies. Anyway we spent hours tying knots, throwing salvage covers, folding salvage covers, tying knots, loading hose, pulling hose, tying knots and tying knots. A fire occurred during the academy. We became experts at washing hose. After two weeks of becoming trained firefighters, we received our shift assignments.

I was assigned to A-Company. My first Captain was Glen Wilkinson (Ret. Dec.) He was a quiet man who looked to take care of his men and smoked liked a chimney. My first Lt. was Sid Haffener. He was a not so quiet man who liked to play pranks and he smoked liked a chimney. There were three fire drivers per shift at that time. Eddie Braddock (Ret.) and Jerry Miller (Ret) were drivers on A-Company. They both smoked like chimneys. I am thinking that our academy should have been teaching us how to properly hold and light a cigarette.

There were two stations in the city when I joined the department. The Headquarters Station and the Sub Station, which is now Station-3, located at 3131 Anderson. The Lieutenant at the Sub Station was Dave Sharp (Ret). Other members of A- Company were, Guy Lundquist (Ret), Mike Atkinson and Joe Pratt. These three people all started with the MFD the day I did. Rick Neel, Bill West and Matt Schlegel were all fire fighters on A-Company. My first station assignment was Headquarters.

Our first out engine, Engine-2 was a 1968 cab over Ford that could pump a 1000 gpm. Our second out was Engine-5, a 1958 Dodge that could pump 750 gpm. It had straight pipes for an exhaust and a 4-speed transmission. The pumper at the sub station was Engine-3. It was a 1969 Ford cab over, could also pump 1000 gallons and was a four speed. Old Engine-1 was still in-service as our back-up pumper. Our ladder truck was a 1964 Seagraves with an 85-foot ladder.

The equipment we carried was the basic forcible entry tools. The SCBA packs were 15-minute shoulder slings. We were not actually to use these; we were supposed to eat smoke. That is what a firefighter did. Our protective equipment was a traditional style helmet, black bunker coat, a set of quick hitches, rubber gloves and a pair of ¾ boots. The liners were removed from the bunker coat when the weather warmed. Most everyone wore the ¾ boots instead of the bunker pants. Due to the ever-evolving climate of the fire service, the ¾ boots were removed from service sometime in the 1980’s. Our station uniform was a blue shirt for everyone but the officers who wore white shirts. The pants were the same that we still wear. Unless you are wearing the new cargo pants. We had the Class A-hat, ball cap and coveralls. T-shirts did not come along until the 1980’s. If allowed I believe Tim Davenport and Terry Scott would still be wearing these t-shirts. Thank God for some rules. Almost no one liked wearing the Class-A hats. I think that maybe Tex might have. He always seemed to have his on. The men complained about wearing the hats. You have to remember this was the 70’s and 80’s. The time of the big hair. We were to wear the Class-A hats anytime we were out of the station. I did not like wearing the hat. Moreover, it was not because of my hair, even though I still had my hair back then. Anyway we were told that we had to have the hat on when we were walking from our car into the station prior to the beginning our shift. Now I know there is a need for some rules, but not bad rules. That is when I began wearing my jeans to work and changing at the station. A lot of guys began doing the same. It was years later that the wearing of the Class-A hat became how it is today.

Our day was somewhat like it still is. We checked apparatus first thing in the morning along with station clean up. Monday was the day that the weekly check-in was done. Tuesday was the day for the weekly station cleaning. This changed in the 1980’s when the Station clean up was moved to Saturdays. This allowed more time for training. As you know, it changed again, to what we now have. In the morning before going off duty, you had to put a bedspread on your bunk. Again, another bad rule. One that did not change until around the year 2000. Act. Chief Chuck Tannehill (Ret) was the person who did away with the making of the bunk in the morning. When you see Chuck, you should thank him.

We did a lot of our own maintenance. We did not start using the city shops for maintenance until the 90’s. If something needed fixed, we did it. The trucks were not as complex as what we now have. A great amount of time was spent training drivers. We spent hours on Meadow Lane laying out hose. We used Bluemont Hill to practice driving cones. We started using 30 minute SCBA early in my career. We had no means of filling bottles, so they were sent out to be filled. When we trained with SCBA, we would put the mask hose inside our bunker coat. If you did not put it inside the bunker coat, someone was sure to have a bottle of coyote piss for you to breathe. The kitchen at Headquarters had a large heavy table. Everyone seemed to eat at the same time. Our kitchen consisted of one 4-burner stove and one refrigerator. We did not have a microwave until later in the 80’s. There were as many as ten people trying to use the kitchen at the same time. The area between the stove, refrigerator and sink was about 24 square feet. Even though we still complain about our kitchens today, believe me when I say, “It ain’t too bad”. Everyone was able to get his or her meals eaten. Finding your food in the refrigerator was difficult. All three shifts used the same one.

I am not one who can recall every fire I have been too. My first fire involving a death was on Hunters Island that occurred my first year on the department. We use to cover the township and many of our fires were in the township. The death was a 9-month-old baby girl in a crib in the rear bedroom of a trailer house. Sid Haffener, Matt Schlegel and I responded with Engine 5. Arriving on scene, we were met by a young man screaming, “I lost her”. I thought he meant the trailer house, which was burning through the roof from end to end. It turned out to be his baby daughter. I remember one of the last fires that Old-Engine-1 was used. It relay pumped to Engine-5 at the Components Manufacturing fire. This was in 1977. Old Engine-1 also responded to the Health Department fire on Poyntz in the early 80’s. As I recall, it was going to relay pump to Engine-3.
In the early 80’s we were on duty when the Manhattan Mill fire occurred. Tex was my Lieutenant, I was driving and Guy Lundquist was tailboard. We responded from the Sub-Station. My assignment was to reverse lay from the Mill. My hydrant was located on a triangle island that was at the end of the viaduct. I remember hoping that I had enough hose to make the hydrant. I slowed down as I neared the intersection where my hydrant was. I recall hearing the last two sections of hose hit the street. I jumped out of the cab, attached the couplings to the outlets, grabbed the two feeder lines, and attached them to the inlets. By now, the traffic is bad coming off the viaduct. I hollered for someone to stop traffic so that I could stretch the feeder lines across the street to the hydrant. The trouble was I was three feet short of hose for making the hydrant. I went back to the truck and inched it forward three feet, praying that a coupling would not pull apart. I now could make my hydrant.

Other large fires include: Ramey Lumber, Hardman Lumber, Manhattan Catholic School, The Health Department, the Aggieville fires and a fraternity fire north of the city park. Some of these fires were actually boring to me. Once you have protected the exposures, confined the fire, and are just dumping large amounts of water on a fire it gets boring. One fire that was not boring was the Humboldt fire. I will never forget pulling up to the side of the building that had blown out. You could see into two apartments and that the fire and smoke was increasing. There was a person on the second floor wearing shorts and a black cape. He jumped from the second floor as though the cape was going to allow him to fly. You would have to have seen it to believe it.

At most fires of any size something memorable happens. I remember at the Baer Apartment fire Guy Lundquist removing a ground ladder from the side of the building. The trouble was Captain Hoefler was on the roof and now had no way down. He hollered , “Lundquist how fucking stupid are you?” Carl liked the “F” word. There was the fire on Galaxy. It was the middle of the night and a third of the house was burning. Chuck and I made entry to search the bedrooms. While we were inside someone, I will not mention any name, made a decision to push the fire our way. Chuck and I saw the fire coming so we went to a window to escape. Chuck was first at the window and was going to jump through it. The problem was every time he went to jump through, his Scott bottle would catch on the window. I turned and looked back at the fire and now it is rolling across the ceiling into the room we are trying to leave. I grabbed Chuck and held him low so his Scott bottle would miss the window. I then jumped. Guy caught me and told me that when I came through the window I did not hit anything.

There were the debris fires under the train bridge that Tex and I always seemed to respond to. At the time, there was a well-known arsonist in town and he kept us busy. Tex and I would set up new Engine-5, a new 500gpm mini pumper, to draft from the river. Tex and I spent many memorable afternoons watching Roger the Hose Rope hold the nozzle to extinguish these fires.
There was the 1993 flood. It was the largest and longest emergency event during my time with the department. One memorable moment of the flood was Dave Sharp in-charge of counting sandbags. Another memorable moment was Rex Worden taking our new Rescue Truck with working wipers to the flood area. I remember Eddie Braddock dragging me out of a house to go back to the station. It was 1979 and the Kansas City Royals were playing the Yankee’s for the American League Championship. It was a close game and even thought we had been at the house for a fire, the TV was still working. I did not want to miss the game. I remember Mike Brumbaugh as the person who had the most ceilings fall on him. I can recall laughing as I pulled him from under a ceiling and out a door. I knew he was not injured. The funny thing was, he had heard so many ceilings come down that he knew what was about to happen. He almost made it to the door. Almost.

The Hardman Lumber Fire. I mentioned earlier, large surround and drown fires, in my opinion are boring. Tex and I were working together the night of the Hardman Fire night. We had the fire confined and now all we would be doing is dumping large quantities of water for the remainder of the night. For some reason, Manhattan’s blue canaries decided that they had to venture into our fire zone. Tex and I spent the rest of the night with a 2 ½ hose shooting down blue canary’s.

The most frightening moment for me was at a house fire that occurred one night. The fire was on Stillman Drive. The first floor was 50% involved. Jerry Miller and I were in the basement to check for extension and to ventilate. Jerry ran out of air and indicated to me that he was going out. I stayed and continued to look for a window to ventilate. Cannot see anything. Finally, my light reflects off a window. I found my way to the window and had to climb up on a workbench to reach it. As I was climbing up to get to the window, what sounded like a jet airplane right next to me started screaming. I thought it was something about to explode. Turned out that somehow I had turned on the switch to the central vacuum sweeper. When you cannot see, you are by yourself and something that loud goes off you take notice. I could go on more about fires but it would take more typing than I want to do. Get some beer, and call Chuck, Tex, Guy, Carl and I together and we can tell you about them.

Some of the changes I have seen in our department since 1977. We have gone from 500 and 1000 gpm pumpers to as many as 2000gpm. Our first ARRF truck in 1979. From not wearing an air pack, to not going in without one. Nomex. Fire helmets that have evolved back to the traditional. Wild land fire gear and hoods. From riding the tailboard, to a jump seat, to an enclosed cab. Air conditioning. Even a stereo system. Good Lord! I saw our first Hurst tool put into service. I was an Acting Lt. when Don Akins and I made a rescue call 8 miles east of town on Hwy 24. We made the first successful extrication using the Hurst tool. The development of the Incident Command System. Mobile Air and the building of Headquarters Station and Station-4. The loss of full-time shift specific dispatchers. The implementation of the Student Firefighter Program. The first full-time female firefighter and first female officer, Tammy Killam (Ret). Two in and Two out. RIT, confined space rescue and trench rescue. Hazardous Materials Technicians. First Responder. From 10 codes to plain talk. From writing radio traffic to a recorder in the Dispatch Office. From only officers having hand units to everyone having a radio available. Steve Doughty (Ret) would have loved to have a radio as a new fire fighter. Double reverse to triple reverse to five-inch hose. I could go on and on about the changes I have witnessed. The fire service is ever evolving. When I started the portable rescue tool was making its debut with the fire service. The ARFF apparatus, the mini pumper, the electro governor and the diesel-powered engine. Hazardous Materials was the next big chance. Incident command training was next. Positive pressure ventilation replaced exhaust fans. I do not know what the next big change will be. However, I can tell you this it is coming. Need something taken care of; give it to the fire department.

We can be proud that our department has trained firefighters that have been employed in such far away places as, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Las Vegas, Hilton Head, Fayetteville, North Carolina, Kansas City and New York City.
As I said at the beginning of this, I started in January of 1977. I was driving second out by August of 1977. I made Fire Driver in 1978, Lieutenant in 1985 and Battalion Chief in 1993. Even though some of you may think otherwise, I am a people person. I care how people are doing in their lives as well as their job. Over the years, I do not think you can find but one or two, who would say that I ever yelled at them. I have worked with many great people over the years. I will not mention any who are still with the department. Most of you would not know how I admire you and respect your work. Some of you are Officers, Fire Drivers, Firefighters and support personnel. I do want to mention some who have retired. Larry Wesche (Ret) was a person from whom I learned a great deal. I watched him handle difficult situations with eloquence. I have always felt that it is better to work as a team than have someone trying to be a dictator. Larry was always fair in his handling of his men. I remember interviewing for Lieutenant. Larry Wesche and Larry Reese (Ret) were doing the interview. When I was finished with the interview, Wesche said something to me that I have not forgotten to this day. He told me that if he had had his eyes closed during the interview, he would have thought he was talking to Tex.

This leads me to talk about Tex. I put Tex at the top of the list of whom I would want as my boss. He knew what was important and what bull crap was. If you were not afraid to work, then Tex wanted you. He had a way of getting on a person who needed a jolt. He also knew when someone was hurting. I remember Elwin Wilds failing to pass the Fire Driver’s test his first time. I was a Fire Driver and Tex was our Lieutenant at the Sub-Station. Elwin was disappointed about the test results. I told him when we got off work we would go to the horse races in Lincoln. I would drive up and he was to drive home. To long a story to tell here, but high or low points are, Elwin got into a fight at the races with what turned out to be the Assistant Fire Chief of Lincoln. We spent too much time at the bars after the races. I had to drive us home. I new we were in trouble when I saw a sign welcoming us to Iowa. The alternator quit working at this time. The two of us made it to work the next day at 8am. Tex took one look at Elwin and me and said he thought we needed some Scottie practice. He brings two Scotties into the dayroom and places them on the floor in front of us. Tex said he had some things to take care of in the front office. He watched out for us all day so that we could recuperate. That is the way Tex was. If you earned his respect, he would take care of you. I remember in 1984 when I had to make the choice for testing for Lieutenant. I told Rick Berry (Ret) that if I could have Tex as my Lieutenant for the rest of my career I would never test for Lieutenant. Tex was a great firefighter and knew how and where to attack a fire. We could all still learn from Tex if he was working today.

Chuck Tannehill is someone I call a friend. We always seemed to be at the same station. Chuck was a Lieutenant who had his own way of doing things. Sometimes he may have even been correct. He could loose his temper at the drop of a hat. However, when he calmed down, he would always admit it if he was wrong. I spent some of my best years on the department working, laughing, and arguing with Chuck. Chuck also helped put my son through college with his billiards ability.

Rick Berry is another one I call friend. Rick and I spent many years playing softball together. We both hated to loose and gave it our all. Now some of you younger people think we probably were not very good. We actually competed in the top league and we may have won it once. It was so long ago that Rick was still using a wooden bat. I am not so sure that when we quit playing, he was still using a wood bat.

When I began with the department, the average age was 24 years old. We had a large number of people leaving the department every year. The pay was low. My take home pay my first year was $270 per pay period. Most everyone worked a second job. However, what fun it was. I can remember wishing I could work on two shifts. It was that enjoyable. What made it enjoyable were many things. I was working with great people, and doing a job that was of service to people. When I started, I felt other people looked down on firefighters. Until they needed us. Citizens thought our day consisted of washing the truck and playing cards. In part, that was true. We played cards, pool, ping-pong and basketball. We also trained and worked on equipment. I believe the appreciation for the people who make up the fire service changed on September 11, 2001. Unfortunately, many people, firefighters and civilians alike had to lose their lives. The equipment and training that has developed since then is great. It is up to us, as members of the fire service that we continue to protect and serve well, those that rely on us.

I have more memories that I could share with you, but not at this time. Remember that there is good in all people. Sometimes you just have to take the time to see it. Remember, even if someone is not promoted, that person may still have a lot to offer. I am going to mention one fella still with the department that has never been promoted to Lieutenant. This memory has remained with me since 1994. We had a fire in the Westwood Motel with a report of a person trapped. I was a Battalion Chief at the time. I arrived on scene and saw an up-stairs apartment with flames coming from the front window. A Code 200 was given. There was a mix up by one of the Engine Drivers. The entrance to the parking lot was blocked by a hydrant line. The second engine could not get to where it should have been placed. The fellow I want to mention is Dave Johnson. Dave was a Fire Driver who was riding in the jump seat. I saw Dave make the correct decision to bring a hand line over a roof to attack the fire. This was not an easy task to perform. We did not save the victim but did save a second apartment. I mention this for a reason. Trust the people you work with. A number of people who are not in the officer’s ranks have the knowledge, experience and intelligence to make great decisions. Learn to use these people.

I wish that I had taken more time to write this. There are so many stories I would like to mention. So many people that have made a difference and yet did not seek acknowledgement. Remember that we are not heroes. The true fire fighter is someone who comes to work and does the job he or she is paid to do. Some will always seek glory. We probably all know a few of these. Stay focused on what the job is really all about. There will be things that happen that are out of your control. Try to change things the correct way.

My son has never known a time that I was not a fire fighter. My being a fire fighter has meant alot to me. My son’s father being a fire fighter meant a lot more to him.

To all of you I say farewell. It has been an honor working with you all. I wish to congratulate all who retire from the department. I may not live long enough to see all of you make it to that day.

Stay safe and make a difference

Battalion Chief Michael “Pete” Heptig

PS
Craig Ross, now that I am old enough to be retired, we will have to renegotiate the foot race.